St. John’s Prep betters St. John’s of Shrewsbury

Thomas helps Prep mix it up

The battle between St. John’s and St. John’s was not much of a battle at all. The fourth-ranked St. John’s Prep Eagles dominated on both sides of the ball Saturday and came away with a 49-8 victory over the visitors from Shrewsbury at Cronin Field in Danvers.

The Eagles forced five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles) and running backs Alex Moore and Johnathan Thomas combined for 316 yards and six touchdowns.

Related Links

“Offensively, we can be explosive at times,” said Eagles coach Jim O’Leary. “[On defense] I think we can run, and, in the secondary, we know we have athletes. It’s a nice mix.”

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Thomas, who rushed for three touchdowns and 233 yards on 18 carries, gave credit to the offensive line for making it an easy day.

“The offensive line did a great job,” said Thomas. “[They] opened up the holes and I just went right through them. Alex and I had a great day.”

The Prep got the scoring started early after Moore picked off Pioneers quarterback Andrew Smiley, and ended up in the end zone on a 2-yard run. Moore (83 yards rushing, 54 yards receiving) rushed for two touchdowns and caught another score.

On the Eagles’ next possession, quarterback Jack Sharrio found Moore in the air for a 54-yard touchdown, putting the Prep up, 14-0.

Thomas scored on a 5-yard run on Prep’s next drive, and after the Pioneers fumbled, he rushed for a 68-yard touchdown to put Eagles up by 28.

Moore made it 35-0 when he burst up the left sideline for a 44-yard score.

Senior linebacker Lucas Bavaro opened the second half by returning an interception 33 yards for a touchdown, and Thomas capped the Prep’s scoring with a 6-yard rush midway through the third.

The Pioneers got on the board in the fourth when Smiley found John Giacoppe for a 19-yard touchdown.

The Prep plays Catholic Memorial (1-4) next week in its first Catholic Conference matchup.

Duxbury 14, Pembroke 6 — Sean McCarthy ran for a score and threw for another and the third-ranked Green Dragons (6-0) tallied 10 sacks in the win, Duxbury’s 32d straight.

Framingham 21, Brookline 14 — Christopher Bloomingdale ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, including the winner in the fourth quarter, for the Flyers (4-2).

Brighton 28, South Boston 22 — Ricardo Edwards scored on a 4-yard rush with 17 seconds remaining to lead the Bengals (2-3) to a comeback victory.

Newton South 24, Weston 6 — Brian Spink ran for two TDs and threw for a third to lead the Lions (3-3).

Scituate 29, Hanover 14 — Mike Stewart threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third to lead the Sailors (4-2).

Swampscott 27, Malden 19 — Brian Santry helped lead the Big Blue (3-3) to a comeback win, completing 15 of 30 passes for 242 yards with three passing touchdowns and one rushing score.

Governor’s Academy 38, Lawrence Academy 20 — Colin Smith led Governor’s Academy on defense with eight tackles and a pass deflection while Tate Jozokos was the star on offense, rushing for a pair of scores and throwing for another.

Roxbury Latin 54, St. Paul’s 37 — Mackay Lowrie threw for 497 yards and six TDs along with a rushing score. His brother Sean had nine catches for 295 yards and three touchdowns and Sean Myers had eight catches for 176 yards and three scores for the Foxes (4-0).

St. Sebastian’s 20, Belmont Hill 14 — Pat Healy threw three touchdown passes, including the winner in overtime, for the Arrows (4-0).

Cushing 33, Phillips Andover 20 — Elijah Rolle scored on rushes of 72 and 58 yards and Jack Wilson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score to lead Cushing.